Ants are fascinating creatures that never stop surprising us. They do the impossible to guarantee the survival of their species. If you are wondering why ants are attracted to many things that surround us, then check out the list we have compiled for you.
This article will reveal the most amazing things that attract ants and what you can do about it to protect your household and belongings without having to endure extensive lengths of effort. Here are some main reasons ants are attracted to certain things.
Reasons Why Are Ants Attracted to Stuff
Although ants tend to do most of their work for the sake of their species’ survival, there are a lot of different reasons that compel them to do that, and here’s why.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Urine?
Most of the time ants are attracted to urine due to its high glucose levels. When an individual has type I diabetes the glucose in their body is unable to enter cells due to the lack of insulin and therefore they accumulate in the blood. When this happens human kidneys are not able to process glucose in urine and it ends up concentrating on it.
Human urine is responsible to expel all the excesses from our body and blood including sodium, potassium, creatine, and other constituents. These are all good resources for many ants and their colonies.
This is why so many ants are compelled to search for the “sweet” nectar of human urine. However, this does not mean necessarily that every individual who has high glucose levels in urine has type I diabetes, only a certified healthcare doctor can properly diagnose that.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Water?
As you may guess, water is life and it is the major foundation for life on earth although ants don’t need a lot of water to survive. Ants often extract their drinking water from the foods they consume, but they do like to have a frequent spot to grab their water in case things can go wrong.
For this reason, you can see a lot of ants near spots with abundant water sources. Certain ant species like the black ant and the carpenter ants are attracted to areas where excessive moisture prevails. This can be on the outside but it can also be on the inside of a house, just like a dark basement or the under cabinet of a kitchen sink.
If you have any water leak in your home, chances are that you will get an ant invasion sooner or later. Ants will scout that source and will use it on their behalf. If ants have a chance to grab water near their nesting spot they will do it for sure.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Anyone?
Ants are attracted to any type of food source, this includes us humans(oh yeah!). But not the way you are thinking, ants tend to search for every opportunity of getting easy food, they are in fact, opportunistic eaters. It happens that a lot of times when you see ants on anyone or even yourself it means that an ant got curious about something in particular.
This can be a “funny” smell, something greasy attached to the skin, sweat, and a whole lot of other things. Perfumes and creams are known to attract certain insects, and as you may guess ants are no exception. If your surroundings are dirty and you touch them or are leaning against them, it is quite normal for ants to climb upon you and continue their journey.
It can happen more frequently than you might expect. Still, it is not uncommon for ants to feed on dead corpses and as you may see, you too are a food source for many ant species.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Blood?
Blood is one of the richest foods ants can have themselves. It’s full of nutrients and proteins, in fact, it has a nice pleasant smell for them that’s why it attracts them so much. Ants are capable of processing all types of blood human and non-human. They can do this on fresh or decaying blood, as long as there are nutrients present in there, they can harvest it.
Sometimes it is common to see ants feasting on decomposing period blood, you can observe this when garbage bags get thrashed on the streets. As long as ants have access to items full of blood they will make their journey and collect it.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Coffee Grounds?
Coffee grounds are able to deliver the raw matter that ants need to build their colonies, this is one of the main reasons why ants are attracted so much to coffee grounds. They can mold coffee grounds to their taste and can build what they need to. However, there is another side of the spectrum to this, ants can also be repelled by coffee grounds.
Scientific studies have been inconclusive in this matter, it seems that certain coffee grounds may cause some sort of discomfort to ants but it isn’t powerful enough to be a major problem for them. One thing that you can observe is that most ants will build their nests in coffee makers and other types of coffee machines. Ants do this because they can offer a hidden, warm and large place for them to prosper. Not only that but usually coffee makers have a full water supply for them to use as they please.
Having a coffee maker with a tank full of water and coffee residue is like giving ants all the resources they need to survive for a while, especially in wintertime.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Me?
When you have ants on you it means that they smelled something pleasant nearby. This can be your sweat, perfume, clothing, or any other thing that they might use as a resource. Ants are very opportunistic when it comes to collecting resources. This may happen often and it doesn’t mean anything at all.
People who work often with food items or raw materials may find themselves with some occasional ants roaming in them, this happens due to the smell they emit to ants. If you smell good they are going to get you.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Electronics?
Most ants are attracted to electronics because they can provide warmth for them. This is a desired feature for many insects and we can say the same for ants. Some electronic devices also provide hidden coverage for many ants to guard their eggs and other provisions, this is one of the fastest ways for them to thrive.
It is no wonder if you find occasionally lots of ants invading your electronic devices. Things such as microwaves, TVs, AC units, laptops, computers, and others are being invaded all the time by ants precisely due to those reasons. Raspberry ants are well known for this, they can infest your household items in a matter of hours and after a few days, they can shelter a structure that can hold a whole colony. This behavior is especially true during ant season.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Period Blood?
Period blood is just like normal blood, it’s full of nutrients that ants can use to feed themselves and their colony members. Another aspect of this is that ants are attracted to pretty much anything that is decomposing, period blood just like any other human body bi-product is no exception to this.
Any protein that starts to mix with oxygen cells will create a smell that will attract a lot of insects, namely, ants. For them, this signals that a meal is nearby. Once this process starts you can observe a true ants’ race for survival.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Sugar?
Sugar is a high source of energy and an edible one too, so ants are able to recognize this. They are masters at exploiting any sugar source as much as possible. Ants will go above and beyond to harvest anything that contains sugar or sugary content.
Sugar, sweets, and any other food source that fits this profile will supply ants with a lot of energy and it is able to maintain working ants around the clock non-stop to collect everything until the last piece.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Vinegar?
Vinegar is known to block any scent trail left for ants to signal others, also, due to the strong smell of vinegar ants’ senses are usually overwhelmed so they tend to stay away from it. Ants use chemtrails to guide other ants to places where resources can be collected, this is their main radar when they are communicating with other members.
If these scents are destroyed by another one stronger they will get lost and return to other duties forgetting about that path. Vinegar is also a great nontoxic solution to get rid of ants without harming any nearby pets or children, people often use it because of that.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Yellow
It is well known that ants are attracted to lighter colors such as yellow, green, and blue being the latter the less sensitive for them. This happens because ants’ photo-receptor cells are very sensitive to these color wavelengths when compared to other animals.
It’s not at random that certain companies produce ant baits in yellow, green, and blue colors. The intention is precisely to attract the most ants possible, especially in poorly illuminated environments, this is a clever way for ant baits to achieve maximum efficiency.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Borax?
Ants aren’t necessarily attracted to borax/boric acid alone. Thanks to its odorless composition it can be combined with other things extremely appealing to ants such as sugar and other sweeteners. This makes borax so irresistible to ants thus making it a great ant bait.
Ants usually eat borax and will continue their duties, 24-48 hours later they will die. But there is an extra hidden bonus, ants will take borax with them and will share it with other members of the colony. This will clear any ant activity in that specific area and its surroundings.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Peonies?
Peony bugs secrete sweet nectar that ants find irresistible. This attracts them from farther away to taste it. When a scout ant tastes the sugary nectar of a peony bud it chemically signals the other ants to take it back to the colony.
Ants will find this signal and immediately will quickly trace it back to its origin. Then, armies of ants are deployed to harvest this food source as quickly as they can. As long as there is nectar in it, ants will collect it all.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Sunflowers?
Ants love the sunflower sap and extrafloral nectaries contained in them. Many species of sunflowers have nectar-secreting pores in their tender new leaves. These extrafloral nectaries tend to attract many ants that go feed on them even before the sunflowers bloom.
It is quite common for ants to be attracted to this honeydew that sunflowers produce, and although this is not the primary food source for them it is in fact a great sweet delicacy that they enjoy much. We often can also see ants collecting aphids that gather to feed on sunflower honeydew, this symbiotic relationship definitely works hand in hand.
Why Are Ants Attracted to Lemon Trees?
Due to the large abundance of aphids and other bugs present on lemon trees it is possible to see many ants attracted to them. They don’t necessarily eat the aphids but they appreciate the waste product that they release after consuming the citrus from the tree. Aphids produce a sweet liquid (honeydew) when they suck on the lemon tree sap. Ants love to feed on any kind of sweet honeydew.
They can also go after other species of insects that also infest lemon trees such as mealybugs, mites, leafminers, whiteflies, and other armored and soft-scale insects. These can provide good provisions for the colony, thus, they are easy to take down when ants attack them in groups.
Other Things That Can Attract Ants
Ants can be attracted to many things that we don’t even dream about, among them are shoes, over-ripe fruit, spilled drops of drinks or food, candy, crumbs, baked goods, jellies and jams, sperm, honey, your sleeping pillow, chewing gum, the list is never-ending.
But don’t worry, in the next section you can check efficient steps that you can follow to get rid of ants without worrying too much.
What Can You Do to Get Rid of Ants?
There are simple steps that you can implement to prevent ants in your home, just do the following:
- Don’t kill any ants, leave them alone, when you kill ants they will release oleic acid that will end up attracting more ants. Think about your strategy well before anything.
- Eliminate any food sources, because as long as there are resources at hand, ants will infest your household to collect them.
- Don’t combine sprays and bait, if you use one don’t use the other because they can null themselves. Spray can keep ants away from the bait, thus nulling the pretended primary effect.
- Use baits on ant trails, because there is a strong chance that they will pick it. This will accelerate any process of waiting for ants to find it.
- Clean your surroundings, having a clean space will avoid any ants that will scavenge for food sources, if there’s nothing but a clean desert they end up going elsewhere.
